Colchester Christian Academy now in possession of East Court Road facility

Staff with Colchester Christian Academy visited their new space, in the former East Court Road School, recently. Front, from left, Pauline MacKinnon, Stephanie Stokdijk, Betty Johnson (principal), second row, Heather Wood, Lianne Settle, Heather Stokdijk, Rebecca Veenhuis, Linda Dopson and, back, Colin Murphy. One of the bonuses of the new building is that CCA will have its own gym. - Lynn Curwin

BIBLE HILL, N.S. – Teachers from Colchester Christian Academy were pretty excited when they got to walk through their future classrooms.

After East Court Road Elementary School became surplus (because children are now attending the new Bible Hill Consolidated School) CCA declared their interest in the property. The school board turned it over to the county, and council agreed to hand it over to CCA. The keys were handed over on Feb. 2.

“We’re excited, and the kids are excited too,” said Betty Johnson, principal of the school. “The kids kept asking, ‘Have we got it yet?’

“There are some maintenance things to be done, but we hope to move in the spring.”

CCA staff discovered several things they could use, including desks, filing cabinets and books, had been left in the building. They will be launching a fundraising campaign to raise funds for the things they still need.

CCA began as a school run by Peoples Church, but in 2003, it became autonomous from the church and a board took over, although it operated from rented space in the church.

“It makes recruitment and visibility easier if we’re not associated with a specific church, so the move will help in those ways,” said Johnson. “Owning, instead of renting, is a big thing, but we’re still within the local community.

“We believe it will be a fairly smooth transition because the building’s already been a school.”

Plans are for elementary, junior high and senior high students each to have their own section.

CCA currently has about 85 students from pre-kindergarten to Grade 12, 10 full-time staff members and more than 60 volunteers. It is governed by a board of seven, and has fundraising and finance committees.

The board has worked out the costs of renting their current space versus operating out of the new building, and estimated that having four new students would make up the difference. They had the building inspected and confirmed insurability before taking possession of the property.